Published: Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 7:24 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 7:24 p.m.

Even one student bullied at East Henderson High is too many, says health science teacher Cheryl Keever, and the school is taking steps to spread that message.

More than 1,000 students recently took part in a survey that measured the occurrence of cyber, verbal and physical bullying on campus. Eighteen percent of respondents indicated they had been victims of cyber bullying. Verbal bullying among students was measured at 25 percent, and 11 percent of students stated they had been physically abused.

The most prevalent form of bullying at East — reported by 29 percent of students — comes in the form of isolation or being left out.

The numbers are not low enough, according to Keever.

“Our theory is that if anybody is bullied — even one person — it's one too many,” she said. “What we wanted to do is start an awareness here and maybe get our school involved (in a way) that would branch out to the whole community.”

In an effort to spread that awareness, Keever and her students gave presentations to the student body Thursday highlighting the findings of the survey through poetry, interpretive dance and dramatic skits.

A PowerPoint presentation featured celebrities such as Christina Aguilera and Christian Bale, who were once victims of bullying. It was noted that Tom Cruise attended 15 different schools and was picked on for having dyslexia.

One performance, to the song “True Colors,” featured statistics written on poster board and presented by five students. The presentation noted that one in seven students is a bully or a victim, and that 56 percent of students are witnesses to bullying.

Four dramatic skits were also performed, which showed the effects of bullying on students. Two of the performances ended in “bullycide,” suicide as a result of being bullied.

Senior Jennifer Hernandez said she was bullied throughout middle school. The 18-year-old co-chair of community awareness for HOSA — Health Occupations Students of America — at East Henderson is working with Keever and other health science students to spread awareness of bullying to the next generation.

Still awaiting approval, Hernandez and Keever hope to visit elementary school students and educate them on the perils of bullying.

“Sometimes they say mean things without even realizing they're mean,” Hernandez said of the younger children. “Little kids just hear things and they feel like they can say it.” If they can stop it in the beginning, Hernandez said, then bullying doesn't have to exist in high school.

Keever isn't completely sure why East Henderson's rates of bullying are lower than the national average.

“I think part of this is leadership here,” Keever said. “Mr. Rhodes is phenomenal. We have a great administration and the expectations of family is really high here.”

Scott Rhodes, in his first year as principal at East Henderson, believes treating people with kindness is really simple to do. “It doesn't cost anything to be nice to people,” he said. “And I think it's become contagious this year at our school.”

Junior Aaron Melvin would agree. He said he's classmates with students he went to preschool with.

“We're all friends,” he said.

Melvin couldn't recall any type of bullying in his early years in school, and in middle school there were only a few instances.

“People flicking other people in the locker room with towels and stuff like that,” he said. “Nothing serious. Nothing bad.”

Daniel Citalan, also a junior, said there were some areas in need of improvement when it comes to bullying at East Henderson.

“There's not enough interaction,” he said. “If someone sees someone else bullying another one, they usually don't tend to do anything about it.”

“I see a lot of people turning their backs on each other,” Citalan added.

But according to the survey, East Henderson scored high in the incidence of students intervening when they witness bullying, which Keever found impressive.

<p>Even one student bullied at East Henderson High is too many, says health science teacher Cheryl Keever, and the school is taking steps to spread that message. </p><p>More than 1,000 students recently took part in a survey that measured the occurrence of cyber, verbal and physical bullying on campus. Eighteen percent of respondents indicated they had been victims of cyber bullying. Verbal bullying among students was measured at 25 percent, and 11 percent of students stated they had been physically abused. </p><p>The most prevalent form of bullying at East — reported by 29 percent of students — comes in the form of isolation or being left out. </p><p>The numbers are not low enough, according to Keever. </p><p>“Our theory is that if anybody is bullied — even one person — it's one too many,” she said. “What we wanted to do is start an awareness here and maybe get our school involved (in a way) that would branch out to the whole community.” </p><p>In an effort to spread that awareness, Keever and her students gave presentations to the student body Thursday highlighting the findings of the survey through poetry, interpretive dance and dramatic skits. </p><p>A PowerPoint presentation featured celebrities such as Christina Aguilera and Christian Bale, who were once victims of bullying. It was noted that Tom Cruise attended 15 different schools and was picked on for having dyslexia. </p><p>One performance, to the song “True Colors,” featured statistics written on poster board and presented by five students. The presentation noted that one in seven students is a bully or a victim, and that 56 percent of students are witnesses to bullying.</p><p>Four dramatic skits were also performed, which showed the effects of bullying on students. Two of the performances ended in “bullycide,” suicide as a result of being bullied.</p><p>Senior Jennifer Hernandez said she was bullied throughout middle school. The 18-year-old co-chair of community awareness for HOSA — Health Occupations Students of America — at East Henderson is working with Keever and other health science students to spread awareness of bullying to the next generation. </p><p>Still awaiting approval, Hernandez and Keever hope to visit elementary school students and educate them on the perils of bullying. </p><p>“Sometimes they say mean things without even realizing they're mean,” Hernandez said of the younger children. “Little kids just hear things and they feel like they can say it.” If they can stop it in the beginning, Hernandez said, then bullying doesn't have to exist in high school.</p><p>Keever isn't completely sure why East Henderson's rates of bullying are lower than the national average.</p><p>“I think part of this is leadership here,” Keever said. “Mr. Rhodes is phenomenal. We have a great administration and the expectations of family is really high here.”</p><p>Scott Rhodes, in his first year as principal at East Henderson, believes treating people with kindness is really simple to do. “It doesn't cost anything to be nice to people,” he said. “And I think it's become contagious this year at our school.” </p><p>Junior Aaron Melvin would agree. He said he's classmates with students he went to preschool with. </p><p>“We're all friends,” he said. </p><p>Melvin couldn't recall any type of bullying in his early years in school, and in middle school there were only a few instances. </p><p>“People flicking other people in the locker room with towels and stuff like that,” he said. “Nothing serious. Nothing bad.”</p><p>Daniel Citalan, also a junior, said there were some areas in need of improvement when it comes to bullying at East Henderson. </p><p>“There's not enough interaction,” he said. “If someone sees someone else bullying another one, they usually don't tend to do anything about it.”</p><p>“I see a lot of people turning their backs on each other,” Citalan added. </p><p>But according to the survey, East Henderson scored high in the incidence of students intervening when they witness bullying, which Keever found impressive. </p><p>“I think these kids just take of each other,” Keever said.</p>